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Samuel H. Deutsch (April 2, 1892 - September 4, 1958) was a prominent sports franchise owner and jeweler. He is best known as being the owner of the National Football League's Cleveland Indians, formerly the Cleveland Tigers, in 1923 as well as for moving the
Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Leag ...
to Cleveland from
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...
and renaming the team the Cleveland Bulldogs.


Jeweler

He was born in New York City, however his family moved to Cleveland, in 1899. After finishing school, Sam began working for his father's jewellery firm, where he learned the art of diamond cutting. He succeeded his father as company president and became chairman of the board in 1956, with his son Robert as president.


Sports

In 1923, Deutsch bought the defunct Cleveland Tigers franchise after it was vacated by Jimmy O'Donnell, and renamed the team the Cleveland Indians. During the 1923 season, the Indians finished in fifth place in the 20-team NFL. Prior to purchasing the Indians, Deutsch was involved in both minor league baseball and boxing in Cleveland. During that season though, the NFL champion Canton Bulldogs lost money, and Deutsch purchased the team for $1,500 from a group of Canton businessmen. He took the team's best players out of Canton and renamed the team the Cleveland Bulldogs, leaving the Canton franchise inactive. The Cleveland Bulldogs won the 1924 NFL championship, and Deutsch sold the inactive franchise back to Canton for $3,000. With key players returning to Canton in time for the 1925 season. The Cleveland Bulldogs though finished the 1925 season in 12th place in the NFL. After a hiatus in 1926, Deutsch revived the Cleveland Bulldogs. Although the team finished fourth in 1927, it was unsuccessful financially, and Deutsch sold the franchise to Elliot Fisher owner of the Detroit Wolverines. The 1928 Wolverines roster included 12 former Bulldogs, 8 of whom became
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
when Fisher sold the Wolverines to Tim Mara in 1929.


References


Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Samuel DeutschOhio History Central: Cleveland Indians (1923)
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Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Cleveland Bulldogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deutsch, Samuel 1892 births 1958 deaths National Football League owners People from Shaker Heights, Ohio